Unregulated device connectivity can cause a multitude of classroom
security and productivity challenges. Never before have computers had
so many connectivity options, portable storage devices been so cheap,
and data transfer rates been so fast. All these factors combine to
present a serious challenge to IT and instructor efforts to keep
classroom computers running and student productivity high.
Portable drives represent a way by which students can bring
distractions—such as games, portable applications, and music—into the
classroom. For IT personnel, the primary consequence of allowing
peripheral devices to connect to public-access computers is that it
becomes a conduit by which malicious software can spread. Students can
quickly cause accidental or malicious network havoc by plugging
infected devices into multiple workstations across several computer
labs.
Protect Against Distractions
By preventing students from being able to access their peripherals
via classroom computers, Device Filter helps eliminate classroom
distractions—such as games on USB Drives, music from iPods, and
pictures from digital cameras. Device Filter also allows schools to
balance security with flexibility—instructors are able to authorize
permanent, temporary, or one-time-only authorizations to devices so
that students can open or save their work using a portable device if
required.
Prevent Malicious Uploading
One of the consequences of the cheap and popular nature of portable
storage is that it becomes a conduit for malicious software. As soon
as an employee or visitor connects a portable drive to a corporate
computer, they run the risk—whether it is accidental or intentional—of
infecting network systems with any malicious software on the drive.
Device Filter protects against this threat by blocking all
unauthorized data connections from taking place.